BME’s Vehicle Safety Breakthrough Granted U.S. Patent

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted patent protection for the vehicle control technology developed by researchers at BME’s Department of Automotive Engineering. What makes this innovation unique is its ability to control the vehicle during skidding even beyond the traction limit, thereby significantly reducing the risk of skidding related accidents.

The development the Vehicle Dynamics and Control research group, operating within the BME Automated Drive Lab, had previously received unified European patent protection. Obtaining the U.S. patent marks another significant milestone in the technology’s international recognition. The USPTO’s decision also indicates that 

the Hungarian researchers’ solution is novel and industrially relevant on a global level.

It applies a new approach in the field of vehicle safety. While the primary goal of traditional stability control systems — such as ESP — is to restore traction, this new technology maintains the vehicle’s controllability even during a skid. If necessary, the system takes control from the driver and, even while skidding, guides the vehicle back onto a safe path, potentially using a controlled drift maneuver. Somehow like this:

“A significant proportion of road accidents stem from the fact that, in critical situations, the driver is no longer able to control the vehicle’s movement. Our goal was to ensure that controllability remains sustainable near or even beyond physical limits,” said Zsolt Szalay, head of the Department of Automotive Engineering at BME. He added: 

“The U.S. patent not only confirms the scientific value of the development but also demonstrates that world-class, industrially significant automotive research is taking place in Hungary.”

One of the key issues regarding the safety of automated and self-driving systems is how they handle extreme traffic situations involving loss of traction. The development can therefore contribute to improving traffic safety and open up new possibilities in the development of next-generation vehicle control systems.

In recent years, the Department of Automotive Engineering has participated in numerous internationally recognized research and industrial collaborations in the fields of automated vehicles, vehicle dynamics, functional safety, and future mobility systems. This latest U.S. patent is yet another example of how Hungarian engineering and scientific expertise is capable of creating innovations that are competitive on an international level.

Rector’s Office, Communications Directorate